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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fine — all right
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. game — a match
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. cell — a phone
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. club — for golf
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — to cut
  20. current — happening now
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com